The uncompromising tactics from the Clintons in their race against Obama is rigged with a couple of misjudgements: those concerning the black community and the expectations of a natural candidate who did not forsee any challanger as serious as Obama.
The Clintons may be pushing the limits of what some leading black people could bear with or deem acceptable.
The american media has been particularly busy in the past week with respect to the harsh declarations from Hillary and Bill Clinton in the race to the election of the democratic candidate against her main rival Obama, ahead in the polls and who the Clintons deem it fit to beat by fair or foul means.
Obama… A hopeless dreamer, like Martin Luther King
Hillary was carried away by her enthusiasm when she sadly juxtaposed Barack Obama and Martin Luther King.
Her statement: “I would, and I would point to the fact that that Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the President before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done. That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became real in peoples eyes because we had a president who said we are going to do it, and actually got it accomplished.”
By this she meant to say that, the Barack Obama dreams were useless unless she, once elected into office, put them into place.
Times though, have changed and this time it is a coloured man, of african descent, who preaches political change, and not only about the role of black people in the american society but also about burning issues on, current affairs, economic issues, social issues as well as foreign affairs!
Comtempt or Patronizing ?
This rather clumsy statement might have been trivial, if she was rid of the perculiar Clinton trait: their comtemptible and patronizing consideration towards their opponent Barack Obama. The coincidence between Hillary’s statement, claiming to be the only person capable of making Obama’s dreams come true, and that of Bill Clinton who pounds at the Illinois Senator as a “child” whilst defining his scepticism on Obama’s “fairy tale” position on Irak, essentially aim at exposing Senator Obama as inconsistent, inexperienced, imbalanced, lacking stature and a pathetic dreamer… All of which Hillary’s common sense and experience bring to light.
The thin line is still holding for the time being, and the Clintons have only succeeded in amplifying a controversy in which their claims have been bloated, distorted, travestied to be better rejected.
Assembling the powers that be…
The counterpoint of the verbal, mediatic and speech wars, has been the assembly of big names backing Obama… John Kerry, the democratic candidate who stood against Bush as well as a high number of influential senators namely; Tim Johnson, James Clyburn (the highest placed black elected official in congress), as well the Arizona Governer, Janet Napolitano, who pays homage to “a fresh voice, a fresh message of unity… a young voice with a new appeal particulary to those from the west…”
As a catalyst to the effects of this assembly, Hilary Clinton has managed to get the support of a symbolic personality, Robert L. Johnson, the founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television), who accepted to back her in her campaign in South Carolina and who has taken his duties as an adversary quite seriously, slamming Obama as drugged out and imcompetent..
Barack Obama has never been a muslim !
Among the various attack tactics launched by the Hilary campagn team was the claim that “Obama was muslim…” Although a false fact, american polls show that 8% of the population believe it. It still remains a rumour.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton have two very different political viewpoints. Their battles should however not cause irreparable damages to the democratic party… A number of observers have started asking the question : Are the Clintons not pushing their luck ?
